WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team will hit the road for a pair of B1G dual matches at No. 50 Penn State (11-13, 2-5 B1G) and No. 11 Ohio State (18-7, 6-1 B1G). Action from the Sarni Tennis Center in University Park, Pennsylvania, is set to get underway Friday at 3:15 p.m. ET. The Boilermakers will then travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a 12 p.m., battle against the Buckeyes at the Varsity Tennis Courts.
The Old Gold & Black (4-14, 0-6 B1G) are coming off losses to then-No. 68 Iowa and then-No. 73 Nebraska on their home courts. Mateus Silva provided the lone point in a 4-1 loss to the Hawkeyes with a straight-set victory at the No. 3 spot.
In doubles play, Purdue gained the early advantage and jumped out with a win at the No. 1 spot from Ricky Medinilla and Diego Acosta. With the win the sophomore/senior pair picked up their seventh win of the season.
Against the Huskers, Arthur Dobradin, Medinilla and Acosta picked up singles victories, but it was the doubles point that proved to be the difference maker as the Boilermakers were edged by the Huskers, 4-3. The seven singles victories by Medinilla, Dobradin and Acosta are tops on the team.
Penn State split a doubleheader in its last outing, falling to then-No. 29 Minnesota (4-0) and beating NJIT (7-0). The Nittany Lions' lineup boasts nationally ranked singles player Leonard Stakhovsky, who checks in at No. 111. He, along with Matt Barry, lead the team in conference singles wins with marks of 3-3.
Sunday's match will be a challenge for the Old Gold & Black as the 11th-ranked Buckeyes have a roster consisting of three nationally ranked singles players and a pair of listed doubles teams. Ohio State is 13-1 at home, including victories over Wisconsin (6-1) and Minnesota (4-2) last weekend.